Help, what is this cyst/bubble thing??? (pic included)

[chanamarie]

A few days ago I noticed one chick (she's about 3 weeks old now) had a small bald spot where her wing attaches to the body at the top. I thought it might be because the chicks are starting to get feathers in. But I checked again today and now it seems the bald spot is bigger and looks like it's a bubble (like fluid under it)! Help, what should I do?

Sorry it's not a great pic.

 

[azygous]

Are there any other symptoms? Such as lethargy, no appetite, etc?

If the chick is behaving normally, try not to worry about it. A chick's skin is exceedingly thin, and it could simply be a blister caused by some irritant. It should disappear over a week's time.

Whenever you see something out of the ordinary with chicks, as long as they behave in their active, let's-have-fun mode, you can probably assume they are okay.

 

[chanamarie]

Are there any other symptoms? Such as lethargy, no appetite, etc?

If the chick is behaving normally, try not to worry about it. A chick's skin is exceedingly thin, and it could simply be a blister caused by some irritant. It should disappear over a week's time.

Whenever you see something out of the ordinary with chicks, as long as they behave in their active, let's-have-fun mode, you can probably assume they are okay.

Thanks for your reply. She's behaving normally...eating, drinking, scratching the ground, hopping about. So will just commence watchful waiting for now!

On a related note...when I first mentioned it to my mom this morning, she said mites. Now, I don't think they have mites as they are brooding outside in the day, but in a cage on the deck (not the ground). Can they still get mites? Should I introduce DE yet?

 

[azygous]

It's highly unlikely for new chicks to have parasites as long as they came from a commercial hatchery, not a backyard breeder.

Watch the other chicks to be sure they don't notice the blister and start pecking at it. You don't want it to burst and introduce bacteria into the open wound.

 

[Jensownzoo]

I'm pretty sure you are looking at the crop. In some chicks when it is full (esp with liquid or gas), you can see it pop up in the right shoulder region in one of the natural featherless tracts. If you want to make sure that's what it is, withhold food overnight and check it first thing in the morning...it should have decreased in size enough to be mostly gone.

 

[gmatson]

It's hard to tell for sure from the picture but looks like the chicks crop.

 

[azygous]

This is the second of this type of post, and both had similar photos that were very poor quality and lacked reference points so it's impossible to tell whether the lump is located on the back or the chest wall. It looked like it was on the back to me.

It would also have been helpful if the OP had a more precise description of where the lump was located as well as the exact size.

Without adequate information, all we can do is try to guess what this mysterious lump is.

 

[Jensownzoo]

Yes, that's what I'm saying. The crop (in my chicks at least) for some reason fills up enough so that the top of it appears to be emerging from the right side of the back/shoulder. It's very weird. Not in all chicks and I don't see it past a certain size or after they've finished feathering in (if it happens, it's covered by the feathers). It was most definitely the crop that I've been seeing because you can see chick crumbles in it when there's an air bubble that makes it semi-see-through.

 

[chanamarie]

Sorry, I wasn't online for a few days...
My mom looked at it (not a chicken person per se, but very experienced with animals generally) and said it was just a bald patch and I was seeing the joint of the wing moving underneath the skin - so not a bubble. It's about dime-sized and where the wing attaches to the body at the top.The chick has been fine (and was fine when I posted) since last week. The chicks are getting their feathers in - maybe that's the reason?

And the chicks are not from a hatchery, but I hatched them. They have not been in contact with other chickens (they are my first ones).